I was ripped off

[Lucius]

I sent a guy a down payment on a car. I use a program called Electrum. After I sent him the money I figured out I was being scammed. Do I have any recourse? Any way to recover my money?
I do have the guys wallet ID and the transaction ID.
Thankfully is was only 55.58663 mBTC

Maybe you learned something from all this, and maybe you got a very cheap life lesson, considering that the amount doesn't seem to be a problem for you. So in the future, if something is not clear to you, first come to the forum and ask - and if you had done that, you wouldn't be talking about this now.

Furthermore, I hope you learned not to buy something you haven't seen, and that from complete strangers who also ask you to pay with Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is a great thing, but only for those who know how it works - and that scammer of yours is obviously very well acquainted with what you still haven't learned.

[retreat]

I sent a guy a down payment on a car. I use a program called Electrum. After I sent him the money I figured out I was being scammed. Do I have any recourse? Any way to recover my money?

I do have the guys wallet ID and the transaction ID.

Thankfully is was only 55.58663 mBTC

Sorry for your loss, but if it has been confirmed on the network you can no longer recover your loss. But would you mind sharing how you lost your money? because this is the first time for me to hear of someone losing bitcoins on a down payment for a car purchase.

[tjtonmoy]

Bitcoin transaction are irreversible. Once the transaction is confirmed on the blockchain you can never get it back. So it is always good to check the transaction and verify everything before sending any Bitcoin. The internet is a scary place if you don't know how to navigate it. If you have never met a person place to face or if it's a company you need to make sure that they are reputable and what you are doing with the transaction is legit.
I got the part of down payment. But it should have confirmed it first or meet face to face and pay all at once after getting the product.
There isn't much that you can do about this as the transaction has already been confirmed. Maybe you should just leave it and focus on never making the same mistake again. Double or triple check everything before making any transaction with Bitcoin. Mistake is a process of learning. So take it as a lesson and move on.

[SamReomo]

You really for ripped off buddy and you can't do anything because Bitcoin transactions are irreversible. Electrum is that wallet that people use to deposit their Bitcoin or send those Bitcoin to someone else and all the transactions of Bitcoin are irreversible whether send via Electrum or any other wallet. That type of scams are common these days and on this forum we always warn Bitcoin users from such kind of scams in order to promote awareness to the users so they can be careful with their transactions.

Even if you have the wallet address of the scammer or the transaction ID (TXID), it will still not be possible for you to regain your Bitcoin if he/she has used a wallet like Electrum. Most Bitcoin users and unfortunately scammers know about such wallet software and they don't really store their Bitcoin on addresses that exchange provide. It'll be almost impossible for you to get your money back. I'm sorry for you loss buddy! Next time be careful when sending Bitcoin to anyone because once the transaction got confirmations then there is no way tor reverse it.

[KiaKia]

I sent a guy a down payment on a car. I use a program called Electrum. After I sent him the money I figured out I was being scammed. Do I have any recourse? Any way to recover my money?

I do have the guys wallet ID and the transaction ID.

Thankfully is was only 55.58663 mBTC

I am sorry for your loss and there is no way you can reverse this transaction, even if you have the address and transaction ID there is nothing anyone can do, this amount isn't even big enough to contact CZ for help, maybe to freeze the fund or something, I hope you learn because it looks like your complete fault.

Sorry to say but I want to know how you meet this person, how can you decide to pay for a car when you haven't meet the seller before? Who introduced you to him? How did you guys get in touch? You should have feel suspicious when he ask to get paid in BTC I believe.

Is this person running a website? If yes I think you should share the link so that we can try alerting others from falling into the same trap as you, Electrum is a bitcoin wallet just like the rest and they don't always have a way to refund a sent transaction, unless it's not confirmed yet, now it's already too late, next time make sure you do deals with genuine business men. Always do your research and ask questions before sending money to anyone.

[Doan9269]

I sent a guy a down payment on a car. I use a program called Electrum. After I sent him the money I figured out I was being scammed. Do I have any recourse? Any way to recover my money?

Payment made with bitcoin are irreversible and you should just believe that has been dashed out through your mistake, if it were to be in fiat currency, they can make reversals if you have enough evidence to lodge this at the bank.

I do have the guys wallet ID and the transaction ID.

There's nothing that can be done than viewing the money from afar and having nothing the do about it, sure, it can be tracked and seen but when you don't have the access to the wallet keys, you can't have the coins back.

[Nrcewker]

Once the transaction is confirmed, there is no way to reverse it. No matter which wallet you use, what amount you send. Sad to see that you got scammed. It’s always advised to be extra careful when you are dealing with money. Haven’t you checked the car physically before sending the down payment? You should have noted the details of the car along with the owner for any emergencies. Nevertheless, now you have learnt a lesson, and from your mistake others will also learn. Wishing you best of luck to recover these losses soon.

[Crypto Library]

I sent a guy a down payment on a car. I use a program called Electrum. After I sent him the money I figured out I was being scammed. Do I have any recourse? Any way to recover my money?
I do have the guys wallet ID and the transaction ID.
Thankfully is was only 55.58663 mBTC

wow that kindda huge amount. However, I am sorry for your loss. But I think you could be a victim of a bigger scam if you buy a more expensive car. So now you console yourself with this thought. Because once the confirmation is done, there is nothing that can be done with Bitcoin address or transaction ID.
Moreover, how did you do this trade? I mean through which source? Is bitcoin illegal or legal in your country? If Bitcoin is legal in your country then you can take legal action through these sources.
The car is not supposed to be ordered just by looking at the picture and if it is a second hand car, then of course people check the car carefully and then buy it. However, before doing this type of transaction, you must be careful. If you have a reliable source, you can pay up front, moreover, you should use a good escrow service provider to do this type of transaction. Anyway, nothing can be done now, but I hope you will be careful in the future.

[Davidvictorson]

I sent a guy a down payment on a car. I use a program called Electrum. After I sent him the money I figured out I was being scammed. Do I have any recourse? Any way to recover my money?

I am very sorry to hear about this.
We need to be extra careful when dealing with strangers online especially when they have no physical address and cryptocurrency is involved.

I do have the guys wallet ID and the transaction ID.

Thankfully is was only 55.58663 mBTC

Deep down I sincerely hope you are able to track him down and get justice. I hope he pays for this crime he has committed.

Another useful tip is that kindly ensure that a trusted friend knows about these types of transactions. They would have been able to spot a foul play and prevented this sad news. Remember this next time.

[Mpamaegbu]

Thankfully is was only 55.58663 mBTC

It's good to know you're already taking this in good faith and have adjusted to move on, not withstanding that the amount involved isn't that small. It's close to $1,500 at the current worth.

I would like think that you actually know the person you sent the coins to in real life because if you don't it's quite foolish to send someone that certain amount of Bitcoin for the purchase of a physical item like a car.

People do pay for stuff online to have items delivered to them at their door post. That's not really an issue and I want to believe OP isn't new to that. The only issue I've with what OP did was sending payment in a rush (scammers count on the hastiness/rush of their victims and so will hurry them up) without waiting for the car to be delivered to them first since it wasn't from an auto company.

[serjent05]

Lately I noticed there are a lot of scams going on with used cars. Since cars are expensive now usually when a great deal pops up usually it gets sold right away.

However there are those that basically make fake ads, with great deals on a certain car and they create FOMO and basically usually buyer will send a deposit to hold the car and it’s usually a scam. You got to becareful out there.

Shouldn't the buyer verify the information first, meet the person, check the documents, and verify it to the transportation office?  If @OP just paid for the car without validating the information then the possibility of a scam will likely happen.  It is a sad thing that the payment is irreversible and the guy happily runs away with the scammed money. But in case, Bitcoin is not illegal in your country and is somehow acknowledged by the government as a mode of payment, then he can file a case against this guy if it happens that he got the guy's information.

[Obari]

I’m sorry about your lost mate but unfortunately you can’t recover such loss and this is one major reason I always preach and encourage the use of escrow at all times irrespective of how much you’re transacting because  those bloody criminals aren’t concerned about what happens to their victims afterwards provided that they get what they’re looking for which is simply the money and I’m glad you were able to contact the forum and I’m pretty sure that you already learnt from this incidence and always prefer to  go with an escrow,irrespective of the amount you’re trading.

[Z-tight]

But would you mind sharing how you lost your money? because this is the first time for me to hear of someone losing bitcoins on a down payment for a car purchase.

The type of payment doesn't matter, neither does the product they wanted to purchase, what matters here is that if you send your funds to strangers who come to you online that they want to sell something, then you are very likely to lose that money. Op already said they sent money to someone who wanted to sell a car, and after sending the money they realized it was a scam, it is a very strange behaviour from op, sending money to a stranger who wants to sell you a car, unbelievable!

[Ale88]

I sent a guy a down payment on a car. I use a program called Electrum. After I sent him the money I figured out I was being scammed. Do I have any recourse? Any way to recover my money?

I do have the guys wallet ID and the transaction ID.

Thankfully is was only 55.58663 mBTC

You can consider those satoshi as spent on a life lesson. Read carefully all the good answers in this thread and you won't make the same mistake again. And probably you should also study a little more about bitcoin and how it works, it's going to help you a lot in the future. Anyway I would never send cryptos to a stranger as downpayment for a deal. If it was a dealer with a written contract then it would be a different story.

[taufik123]

Look at the TXID you provided,

Your Address: bc1q2xwwket3txcxvqa5fecutez2p55qvfcpne4p6np40wq3x5uw5x0s2g9c9e

The scammer's Segwit address: bc1qurffa50xg6j47kgtfggerh3yhmc8gdy0e4drrw

Fraudster's Binance address: 1AN5soiGR9V87BrWxGdLyLBwvZXh1Ptn34

https://platform.arkhamintelligence.com/explorer/tx/7ff518aae3b8c95c530410aff6c37601c8a3cfda65cd960c3ad63a0551ac57a6



The scammer has sent him to the Binance hot wallet, and that is his last place.

This is a valuable lesson not to be too trusting with people you just met.
At least make transactions with people you know and where the business is located.

[famososMuertos]

I think this is what you are looking for - 7ff518aae3b8c95c530410aff6c37601c8a3cfda65cd960c3ad63a0551ac57a6

...//:::

I don't think the guy actually owns the car but the plates on the car are New Jersey - 12845QQ and he gave me a name of Damon Eden

The main thing is to know that they were going to scam you anyway, if you had paid with Fiat, don't think you would have been saved. It is the typical case that regardless of the payment method you use, your bad habits will give you these results.

"Once Upon a Time..." by the vehicle's license plate and a name.

As you can see, with that from the point of view of what bitcoin means we can't do anything, but with the Txs, you can see that someone above provided you with the transaction information.

Make the report, it may not mean anything for your particular case, but you may be providing information from someone who even has this modus operandi and then before several complaints and the amount increases, a deeper investigation may proceed.

Your experience is unfortunate, I hope it serves as an experience for everyone, not just those who are learning, this is a clear example that we must always be alert, the scam that we do not know about is waiting for the unwary.

[Quidat]

I sent a guy a down payment on a car. I use a program called Electrum. After I sent him the money I figured out I was being scammed. Do I have any recourse? Any way to recover my money?

I do have the guys wallet ID and the transaction ID.

Thankfully is was only 55.58663 mBTC

Sorry for your loss. The money you had sent out is already considered total loss as long it had been confirmed. On what kind of transaction you are making with other people?
Why you havent really that able to realize that making some downpayment for purchasing a car? If this thing done through online and having no signing of documents involved then its definitely a scam.
There's no way that you could really be able to get  some easy deal with purchasing some car without having those paper works even though the payment is through online means or methods
but in speaking about legality or legitimacy of such transaction then it would really be that much preferred on doing it physically or in person. Buying and selling cars doesnt really come on a simple
agreement or something that verbal and then agreed on the amount which you would be paying then its already done which it isnt something like that.

The amount isnt really that too big though so its still a good call that you had noticed something and find out on being a scam. This is a some lesson learned for you
that never ever trust someone and do make out some immediate sending out money into random people not unless you do make out some face to face transactions.

[pixie85]

I don't think the guy actually owns the car but the plates on the car are New Jersey - 12845QQ and he gave me a name of Damon Eden

Did you find this add on Facebook?

Was this 1967 Chevrolet Nova SS PROJECT for $15000?
How did you contact the seller?

Did you use messenger?

Usually there's some trace the police could follow.
If he told you he was the owner of the car and scammed you, that's a matter for the police, pretty much like if you gave him cash and he bailed.

[Y3shot]

I sent a guy a down payment on a car. I use a program called Electrum. After I sent him the money I figured out I was being scammed. Do I have any recourse? Any way to recover my money?

I do have the guys wallet ID and the transaction ID.

Thankfully is was only 55.58663 mBTC

I'm so very sorry for this loss, one thing about bitcoin is that one's you send a transaction it is something you can withdraw back or try to get back your fund back. Bitcoin is not like the banking system when you report an account to get freeze, that is why people needs to be very careful when making transaction in bitcoin because when a transaction is sent their is nothing that can be done to get back the money back.

 When dealing in bitcoin with strangers you have to be very sure before you send or confirm the transaction so that you won't have any regret after you might have done with transaction.

[BitDane]

I don't think the guy actually owns the car but the plates on the car are New Jersey - 12845QQ and he gave me a name of Damon Eden

Did you find this add on Facebook?

Was this 1967 Chevrolet Nova SS PROJECT for $15000?
How did you contact the seller?

Did you use messenger?

Usually there's some trace the police could follow.
If he told you he was the owner of the car and scammed you, that's a matter for the police, pretty much like if you gave him cash and he bailed.

The good thing is that  taufik123 had traced the transaction where the possible true identity of the scammer can be identified since the BTC was sent to a Binance account.  If @OP wanted to pursue the case and wanted the scammer apprehended he can then ask a the court for an order so that Binance will disclose the owner of the stated address.  

It might be more costly but it will possibly prevent future scam done by this person.